>> Braude: TONIGHT ON "GREATER BOSTON": AS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN COMMEMORATES AN OFT-FORGOTTEN CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY, THE TULSA MASSACRE, HISTORY TULSA MASSACRE, HISTORY HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR AND PULITZER-PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR, ANNETTE GORDON REED, JOINS ME ON ANOTHER: THE FINAL DAYS OF SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE LEGACY THAT FOLLOWED, IN HER NEW BOOK, "ON JUNETEENTH."

THEN, LATER, THE COUNTRY AND THE STATE ARE QUICKLY RETURNING TO PRE-PANDEMIC LIFE.

BUT SHOULD WE BE?

BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER EPIDEMIOLOGIST DR. CASSANDRA PIERRE, ACTING HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AT BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER; AND DR. JEREMY FAUST, AND EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL, JOIN ME.

AND, FINALLY, HOW BUSINESSES IN HARVARD SQUARE, ALREADY NO STRANGER TO CHANGE, HAVE FARED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.

♪♪ >> Braude: 100 YEARS AGO TODAY, A WHITE LYNCH MOB TORE THROUGH A FLOURISHING BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, KILLING AS MANY AS 300 PEOPLE, BURNING AROUND 35 BLOCKS TO THE GROUND, AND DESTROYING MORE THAN A THOUSAND HOMES AND BUSINESSES.

IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST INCIDENTS OF RACIAL VIOLENCE IN THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY AND REVERSED YEARS OF PROSPERITY IN THE GREENWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH WAS BUILT BY THE CHILDREN OF SLAVES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF JIM CROW, AND HAD COME TO BE KNOWN AS "BLACK WALL STREET."

BUT TO THIS DAY, YOU WON'T FIND A WORD ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR THE MASSACRE IN MOST AMERICAN HISTORY BOOKS.

IN A SPEECH FROM GREENWOOD TODAY, PRESIDENT BIDEN CALLED ON THE COUNTRY TO CHANGE THAT AND TO FINALLY CONFRONT LONG-IGNORED ACTS OF RACIAL TERROR LIKE THIS ONE.

>> FOR MUCH TOO LONG, THE HISTORY OF WHAT TOOK PLACE HERE WAS TOLD IN SILENCE, CLOAKED IN DARKNESS.

ONLY WITH THE TRUTH CAN COME HEALING AND JUSTICE AND REPAIR.

FOR ALL THOSE LOST, FOR ALL OF THE DESCENDENTS, FOR THIS COMMUNITY, THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE, TO MAKE SURE AMERICA KNOWS THE STORY IN FULL.

>> Braude: BIDEN ALSO ANNOUNCED SOME SMALL STEPS, INCLUDING TARGETED GOVERNMENT BUSINESS GRANTS AND NEW FAIR HOUSING RULES, AIMED AT REDUCING THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP IN TULSA AND BEYOND.

BUT THE GREENWOOD MASSACRE IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY THAT MOST OF US DIDN'T LEARN ABOUT IN SCHOOL.

I, FOR ONE, WAS TAUGHT THAT SLAVERY ENDED WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN SIGNED THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION IN 1863.

BUT IN REALITY, IT CONTINUED FOR YEARS IN MANY SOUTHERN STATES, INCLUDING TEXAS, WHERE SLAVES WEREN'T FREED UNTIL A UNION ARMY PROCLAMATION NEARLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER.

IT BECAME KNOWN AS JUNETEENTH, A HOLIDAY THAT'S BEEN CELEBRATED EVER SINCE, BY SOME, THOUGH STILL NOT FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED.

A GREAT NEW BOOK FROM HISTORY AND HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR ANNETTE GORDON REED TELLS THE STORY OF THE ROAD TO JUNETEENTH, AND SINCE, THROUGH A HISTORY OF HER STATE AND OF HER FAMILY, AS SHE GREW UP IN TEXAS.

IT'S CALLED: "ON JUNETEENTH."

AMONG HER OTHER WORK IS "THE HEMMINGSES OF MONTICELLO," WHICH WON A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY.

SHE JOINS ME NOW.

>> Braude: ANNETTE GORDON REED, IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.

>> GREAT TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.

>> Braude: UNLIKE MOST OF AMERICA, ESPECIALLY WHITE AMERICA, YOU GREW UP CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH.

AFTER WHAT SOME HAVE CALLED A YEAR OF RACIAL RECKONING, WILL THIS YEAR'S BE DIFFERENT?

>> WELL, I THINK SO BECAUSE ALL EYES ARE ON, AND MANY THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT THE QUESTION OF RACE IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD, AND ALL OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS THAT TOOK PLACE NOT JUST IN THIS COUNTRY BUT AROUND THE WORLD AFTER THAT.

WE ARE SUPPOSEDLY IN SOMETHING CALLED A RACIAL RECKONING, AND SINCE SLAVERY WAS RACIALLY BASED IN THIS COUNTRY, THE END OF SLAVERY IN TEXAS, A HOLIDAY THAT IS NOW CELEBRATED AROUND THE COUNTRY, IS A GOOD TIME TO REFLECT UPON THIS QUESTION AND HOW THAT INSTITUTION CONTINUES TO SHAPE AMERICAN LIFE.

>> Braude: ONE OF THE FEW TRUTHS SPOKEN BY DONALD TRUMP, A PERVERSE REALITY WAS WHEN HE SAID HE MADE JUNETEENTH FAMOUS, HE BROUGHT IT INTO THE CONSCIOUSES OF MANY, WHEN HE HAD THAT RALLY SCHEDULED ON JUNETEENTH IN TULSA.

SADLY, FEW OF US KNEW ABOUT THAT.

IS IT BECAUSE BLACK AMERICANS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OUT OF AMERICAN HISTORY, OR BECAUSE WE SHARE SOME OF THE BLAME THAT WE'RE SIMPLY TOO COMFORTABLE WITH A MORE COMFORTABLE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY?

>> WELL, I THINK PART OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT FOR MANY YEARS THE CELEBRATION WAS CENTERED IN TEXAS.

AND I GREW UP THINKING OF IT AS A TEXAS HOLIDAY, A HOLIDAY FOR BLACK PEOPLE IN TEXAS.

AND THEN IT BECAME A STATE HOLIDAY, IN '79AND9 AND OFFICIALLY IN 1980.

IT TOOK A WHILE, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LEFT TEXAS TOOK IT WITH THEM, BUT IT WASN'T SORT OF IN NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS.

IT WAS A STATE BY STATE PHENOMENON.

IT WAS PRETTY FAMOUS WHEN HE SAID IT.

IT DID BRING ATTENTION TO THE DATE WHEN THERE WAS THIS CONFLICT.

BUT IT WAS PRETTY WELL-KNOWN BEFORE THEN, BUT NOW, AS I THINK YOU SUGGESTED BEFORE, BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FOCUSING MUCH MORE ON IT THAN THEY HAD IN THE PAST.

>> Braude: SPEAKING OF HISTORY IN TULSA, IT SEEMS TO ME TOO FEW OF US KNEW OF THE MASSACRE, EITHER.

BUT AFTER HAVING READ YOUR BOOK, "VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE," WHEN THEY ARE ACHIEVING FREEDOM OR PROSPERITY, WHETHER IN TEXAS OR NOT, IS NOT UNUSUAL AT ALL.

>> NO, IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL.

INDEED, AFTER JUNETEENTH, IT WAS ACTUALLY CALLED EMANCIPATION DAY BACK IN 1865, WHEN THE FORMER ENSLAVED PEOPLE STARTED TO CELEBRATE.

AND IN MANY INSTANCES, THEY WERE PUNISHED FOR IT.

I READ ABOUT ONE SITUATION WHERE DOZENS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE CELEBRATING WERE WHIPPED BECAUSE OF THAT.

DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD, AND AFTERWARDS, MANY WHITES IN TEXAS AND AROUND THE SOUTH UNLEASHED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE FORMER ENSLAVED PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY WERE ANGRY AT THE CHANGE OF STATUS BROUGHT BY THE CIVIL WAR AND THE CIVIL WAR AMENDMENTS.

SO VIOLENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE STORY.

>> Braude: I WANT TO TALK FOR A SECOND, AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO YOUR BOOK, ABOUT A DIFFERENT KIND OF VIOLENCE DIRECTED AT BLACK PEOPLE.

LET ME PLAY FOR YOU TWO TEXAS DEMOCRATS, LAWMAKERS, AFTER THEY WALKED OUT OF THE HOUSE OVER THE WEEKEND IN AN EFFORT TO THWART A VOTER SUPPRESSION BILL.

>> WE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO STAND AND ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO PUSH MEASURES THAT DISENFRANCHISE OUR VOTERS.

>> THIS IS A WITCH HUNT, A WITCH HUNT THAT WAS AIMED AT PEOPLE OF COLOR.

>> Braude: BLACK AMERICANS HELPED ELECT JOE BIDEN AND UNELECT DONALD TRUMP.

THESE VOTER SUPPRESSION BILLS AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE JUST A VARIATION ON A THEME OF VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE, ARE THEY NOT?

>> WELL, I'M CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT BLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM.

AFTER THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR AND AFTER THE END OF SLAVERY AND THE PASSAGE OF THE 13th, 14th, AND 15th AMENDMENT, THE NEXT THING WAS TO HAVE BLACKS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLICY, TO BE VOTING CITIZENS.

AND THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF MEASURES, AFTER THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION AND THE REDEMPTION GOVERNMENTS, WHEREAS WHITES CAME IN AND SHUT BLACKS OUT OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS, LOTS OF MEASURES WERE PUT IN PLACE TO TRY TO STOP BLACK PEOPLE FROM VOTING.

AND THERE HAS NEVER BEEN, ON THE PART OF SOME PEOPLE, A RECOGNITION OF OUR EQUAL CITIZENSHIP, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE TO COMPETE FOR OUR VOTES.

THE IDEA WAS TO STIFLE OUR VOTES.

THIS IS PART OF A LONG-STANDING PATTERN FROM THE TIME OF -- AS I SAID, FROM THE END OF SLAVERY UP UNTIL NOW.

>> Braude: SO I LEARNED IN YOUR BOOK OVER THE WEEKEND, AS A LITTLE GIRL, YOU INTEGRATED AN ALL-WHITE SCHOOL WITH NO FEDERAL MARSHALS, WITHOUT MUCH FANFARE.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN LIKE THAT?

>> MY TOWN, AS WERE MANY TOWNS IN THE SOUTH, WAS RESISTING BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION.

AND THIS IS 10YEARS AFTER THAT, AND THEY CAME UP WITH THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE PLAN.

AND EVERYBODY WAS SUPPOSED TO PICK THE CHOICE.

AND WHITES WOULD PICK WHITE SCHOOLS AND BLACKS WOULD PICK BLACK SCHOOLS.

PIE PARENTS,MY PARENTS, SEEING THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL, SENT ME TO A WHITE SCHOOL.

IT WAS PRETTY HAIRY THERE FOR A TIME.

I HAD GREAT SUPPORT FROM MY TEACHERS AND FROM SOME KIDS, BUT THERE WERE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T HAPPY ABOUT IT.

I FOUND OUT LATER OUT THERE WERE THREATS AGAINST MY FAMILY.

OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT THAT, A 6-YEAR-OLD.

I WENT AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL.

AND IT WAS NORMAL IN A WAY AND NOT SO NORMAL IN A WAY.

IN THAT WE HAD PEOPLE WHO C DOORWAY AND LOOKED IN THE CLASSROOM TO SEE THIS THING, THIS BLACK PERSON IN THIS EXPERIENCE OF HAVING BLACK AND WHITE KIDS TOGETHER.

A BLACK KID WITH WHITE KIDS.

BUT IT WAS AN INTENSE TIME PERIOD, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING I THINK MY PARENTS THOUGHT HAD TO BE DONE.

AND, SURE ENOUGH, A COUPLE YEARS LATER, THE COURT STRUCK DOWN FREEDOM OF CHOICE PLANS, AND EVERYBODY HAD TO CHANGE SCHOOLS.

AND I WAS ALREADY IN PLACE.

>> Braude: SPEAKING OF "BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION," OBVIOUSLY EQUAL IS NOT CONSTITUTIONALLY PERMISSIBLE FROM 1964, YOU WRITE THAT WHILE MOST OF US FOCUS ON BLACK STUDENTS AND HOW THEY WERE AFFECTED, THAT WE HAVE FAR TOO LITTLE FOCUS ON BLACK TEACHERS AND HOW THEY WERE AFFECTED.

COULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT?

>> WELL, INTEGRATION WAS NOT AT THAT PARTICULAR LEVEL.

THE IDEA WAS TO GET THE KIDS TOGETHER, BUT THERE WAS NO SUFFICIENT TALK ABOUT OR THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THEY WERE GOING TO INTEGRATE INTO -- BLACK TEACHERS INTO THIS NEW SYSTEM, THIS MELTED SYSTEM.

AND ACROSS THE SOUTH, AND NOT JUST TEXAS, SOMETIMES A LOT OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEACHERS WERE TAKEN OUT OF THE CLASSROOM OR MOVED TO DO OTHER THINGS THAT THEY HAD NOT BEEN TRAINED TO DO OR DID NOT WANT TO DO.

THAT'S NOT WHY THEY HAD -- THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEIR CAREER PLAN WAS TO BE.

>> Braude: UH-HUH.

>> SO BLACK STUDENTS SOMETIMES LOST BLACK FEMALE AND MALE TEACHER ROLE MODELS FOR THEM.

AND AS I SAID, MY TEACHERS WERE VERY GOOD IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

BUT BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, WHICH IS THE BLACK SCHOOL IN MY HOME TOWN, THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS HAD A SPECIAL BOND BECAUSE THE TEACHERS LIVED IN THE COMMUNITY.

SOMETIMES THEY WERE MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILY.

AND IT WAS A COMMUNAL EFFORT.

AND THAT WAS SORT OF LOST.

MY MOTHER, YOU KNOW, REMAINED IN THE CLASSROOM, BUT HER MISSION OF TEACHING BLACK STUDENTS, WHICH IS WHY SHE SAID SHE HAD BECOME A TEACHER, WAS GONE.

SHE LOVED ALL OF HER STUDENTS, BLACK AND WHITE, BUT SHE HAD SEEN HERSELF AS PART OF A VANGUARD THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TRAINING BLACK STUDENTS UNDER VERY, VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES TO SORT OF CARRY THE BALL FORWARD IN THE WAY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT FROM THE '50s AND THE '60s.

SO IT CHANGED THINGS, FOR THE BETTER IN LOTS OF WAYS, BUT THINGS WERE LOST AS WELL.

>> Braude: YOU WRITE TEXAS IS A WHITE MAN.

I THINK MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK CAN PROBABLY FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU MEANT.

BUT RATHER THAN THEM FILLING IN THE BLANKS, WHY DON'T YOU.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

>> I SAY THAT BECAUSE THE IMAGE OF TEXAS IS OF A WHITE MAN.

PEOPLE THINK OF A COWBOY OR THEY THINK OF AN OIL MAN OR RANCHER.

AND EVEN THOUGH A NUMBER OF COWBOYS WERE BLACK -- THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF HISTORY THAT IS NOT KNOWN AS WELL, AND SHOULD BE, BUT FROM HOLLYWOOD THERE IS AN IMAGE, AND TEXAS IS ABOUT THE WEST.

IT IS NOT ABOUT EAST TEXAS, WHERE I GREW UP, WHERE MOST PEOPLE LIVED, WHICH WAS A PLANTATION SOCIETY, A PLACE WHERE COTTON WAS GROWN AND SUGAR CANE.

THE PEOPLE WHO SETTLED THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO CAME FROM GEORGIA AND ALABAMA AND FROM THE EASTERN -- THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES TO RECREATE THE COTTON KINGDOM THERE IN TEXAS.

AND ISN'T -- YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT.

YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT COTTON AND SLAVERY -- MOST PEOPLE DON'T THINK ABOUT COTTON AND SLAVERY.

THAT'S NOT THE PREDOMINANT IMAGE OF TEXAS.

ONE OF THE COWBOY, OUT WEST, ON THE RANGE.

THAT'S WHY WHEN SO MANY THINGS HAPPEN IN TEXAS, AND YOU HEAR ABOUT THEM, PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH COWBOYS AND THE RANGE?

AND THE RACIAL QUESTION ABOUT VOTER SUPPRESSION, RACIAL TENSION, ALL OF THOSE THINGS GROW OUT OF ITS HISTORY AS HAVING BEEN A PLANTATION SOCIETY, A SLAVERY-HOLDER'S REPUBLIC.

>> Braude: ANOTHER TEXAN IS LEADING TO MAKE JUNETEENTH A HOLIDAY.

HOW MUCH DOES THAT MATTER?

>> WELL, IT WOULD BE NICE.

IT WOULD BE NICE.

BUT SINCE MOST STATES HAVE SOME FORM OF RECOGNITION OF IT, IT IS ALREADY LIKE THAT.

IT JUST SEEMS IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO PUT THE CHERRY ON TOP OF ALL OF IT.

WE DO NEED TO HAVE A DAY, I THINK, TO COMMEMORATE THE END OF SLAVERY.

THIS WAS NOT THE LEGAL END OF SLAVERY, THE 13th AMENDMENT, WHEN IT WAS RATIFIED AT THE END OF 1865.

BUT THIS IS AS GOOD A DAY AS ANY.

IT IS A TIME TO REFLECT NOT ON THE NOTION THAT EVERYTHING WAS ALL RIGHT WHEN SLAVERY ENDED, BUT IT WAS REALLY MORE OF A BEGINNING.

BUT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MUST HAVE FELT LIKE, REMEMBER WHAT IT MUST HAVE FELT LIKE TO PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN TREATED LIKE PROPERTY, TO THINK THEY FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO LIVE AT EQUAL HUMAN BEINGS AND CITIZENS IN THE COUNTRY THAT THEY HELPED TO BUILD.

>> Braude: I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LEARNED FROM YOUR BOOK.

THANK YOU FOR IT AND YOUR TIME TONIGHT.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Braude: THE BOOK AGAIN, "ON JUNETEENTH."

>>> NEXT UP, FROM CEREMONIES AND COMMEMORATIONS TO BARBECUES AND BEACHES, MANY AMERICANS GOT A FIRST GLIMPSE AT POST-PANDEMIC LIFE OVER THIS PAST MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.

SETTING ASIDE MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES FOR THE FIRST HOLIDAY IN MORE THAN A YEAR.

THAT'S ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR MASSACHUSETTS, WHICH RLLED BACK VIRTUALLY ALL REMAINING COVID RESTRICTIONS OVER THE WEEKEND, AFTER GOVERNOR CHARLIE BAKER DECLARED THE PANDEMIC PRETTY MUCH OVER IN THE STATE, AS CASES AND DEATHS DROP TO THEIR LOWEST LEVELS IN NEARLY A YEAR AND VACATIONS SOAR, WITH AROUND 65% AT LEAST PARTIALLY VACCINATED.

BUT THAT STILL LEAVES MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE WITHOUT A SINGLE DOSE.

AND AS THE DEAN OF BROWN'S SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, ASHISH JHA, POINTED OUT ON TWITTER, WITHIN THE STATE SOME COMMUNITIES ARE GETTING VACCINATED FASTER THAN OTHERS.

HE TOOK THE CITY OF NEWTON, WHICH HAS SOME OF THE HIGHEST VACCINE NUMBERS IN THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING 99% OF PEOPLE OVER 30 -- NOT A TYPO, HE SAID 99% -- AND THEN COMPARED THEM WITH THE NUMBERS OUT OF SPRINGFIELD, WHICH ARE BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, INCLUDING JUST 64% OF PEOPLE OVER 30.

HE SAID, "THE DIFFERENCES ARE DRIVEN LARGELY BY EDUCATION, INCOME, AND RACE AND WARNED MASSACHUSETTS AND OTHER HIGH VACCINATION STATES: YOUR JOB IS NOT DONE."

SO IS COVID REALLY PRETTY MUCH OVER IN MASSACHUSETTS?

I'M JOINED BY DR. CASSANDRA PIERRE, ACTING HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS AT BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER; AND DR. JEREMY FAUST, AND EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL AND INSTRUCTOR AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL.

>> Braude: DOCTOR AND DOCTOR, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU BOTH.

>> GREAT TO BE HERE.

>> Braude: DR. PIERRE, ASSUMING YOU AGREE WITH DR. JHA, WHAT IS STILL TO DODDO ON YOUR TO-DO LIST?

>> WE KNOW WE HAVE SEEN DECLINES IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS, WE KNOW THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF UNDERVACCINATED PEOPLE, AND UNDERVACCINATED COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE COULD SEE SMALL SPIKES, AND MAYBE EVEN LARGER SPIKES, WHEN THE WEATHER CHANGES.

WE ALSO HAVE NOT YET VACCINATED CHILDREN, PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 12 ARE NOT YET AUTHORIZED TO BE VACCINATED, AND OLDER ADOLESCENTS AND TEENS ARE STILL UNDERVACCINATED.

SO WE STILL HAVE QUITE A BIT TO DO.

>> Braude: DR. JHA, WHAT WOULD BE ON YOUR LIST?

>> Doctor: VACCINE VACCINATION IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS.

THE DATA IS EVEN WORSE THAN IT SOUNDS.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AREAS WHERE THERE STILL IS THE PROB, ITPROBLEM, IT IS THE AREA WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF VACATIONS.

WE'REVACATIONS -- VACCINATIONS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT PLACES LIKE BRISTOL.

IT IS ABOUT GETTING SHOTS IN THE ARM.

>> Braude: IT SEEMS TO ME WITHOUT MANY VACCINATION MANDATES, THERE ARE VIRTUALLY NONE, AND WITH VERY FEW REQUIREMENTS THAT PEOPLE SHOW PROOF OF VACCINATION TO GET IN ANYTHING, IT SEEMS TO ME WE HAVE CREATED A DISINCENTIVE FOR THE UNVACCINATED TO STILL GET VACCINATED.

AM I WRONG?

>> Doctor: TO SOME EXTENT, WHEN YOU REACH THE POINT WHERE ENOUGH OF THE POPULATION IS TRULY IMMUNE, THE OTHER PEOPLE CAN BENEFIT FROM THAT.

THAT'S NOT THE WAY YOU WANT THIS TO GO.

YOU WANT THIS TO BE WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLY GOOD TREND OVERALL, WHEN WE HEARD AS FEW AS HALF OF THE AMERICANS WOULD GET THE VACCINATION, AND THE NUMBER KEPT RISING AND RISING.

ONE OF THE HARDEST GROUPS TO REACH IS WHITE REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN THEIR RURAL DISTRICT.

SO WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT THIS.

SO REACHING THOSE KINDS OF VOTERS TAKES DIFFERENT MESSAGING THAN OTHER GROUPS WITH VACCINE HESITANCY.

>> Braude: DR. PIERRE, I WANT TO GET BACK TO WHAT YOU SAID, WE HAVEN'T VACCINATED KIDS UNDER 12 BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN APPROVAL YET.

I'M SURE YOU HAVE READ THAT WE SHOULD ACTUALLY PUT THAT ON HOLD, THAT THE RISK TO THOSE YOUNG KIDS IS SO MINOR, COMPARED TO THE RISK TO THE INDIVIDUALS IN COUNTRIES, INDIA BEING AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, WHICH ARE GROSSLY UNDERVACCINATED, AND THEIR RISK TO US AS A RESULT, VARIANTS AND THOSE SORT OF THINGS.

DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THAT NOTION WE SHOULD PUT THESE YOUNGER KIDS ON HOLD TO HELP TAKE CARE OF THE REST OF THE WORLD FIRST, OR NO, DOCTOR PIERRE?

>> I WANT EVERYTHING AT ONCE.

AND IN THIS CASE, I WANT BOTH.

I KNOW THAT MAY NOT BE REALISTIC.

WE HAVE THESE AS SEPARATE REALITIES WHERE ON ONE SIDE, THE GOVERNOR OF OUR STATE HAS SAID THAT COVID IS ALMOST OVER, AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE PANDEMIC RAGING IN INDIA AND OTHER AREAS.

IT IS TERRIBLE AND HEARTBREAKING TO WATCH.

I THINK THAT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, EVEN A YEAR AGO, THIS WAS PROBABLY -- THIS IS SOMETHING WE COULD SEE HAPPENING DOWN THE WAY.

SO PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE GET THE PRODUCTION OF VACCINES UP IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

THE UNITED STATES IS COMMITTED TO DONATING A SIZABLE AMOUNT OF VACCINES TO OTHER COUNTRIES, AND I THINK WE NEED TO HOLD OUR COUNTRY ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT.

AT THE SAME TIME, EVEN THOUGH THE RISK TO CHILDREN IS LOWER, IT IS NOT ZERO, AND WE HAVE HAD DEATHS IN CHILDREN.

WE HAVE LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 IN CHILDREN AND SEVERE DISEASE IN CHILDREN.

SO AS A MOTHER OF YOUNG CHILDREN MYSELF, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO GET THIS.

OBVIOUSLY THE PRIORITY IS GLOBAL VACCINATION BECAUSE -- AND SO WE HAVE REALLY GOOD COVERAGE AROUND THE WORLD.

UNTIL WE HAVE GOOD COVERAGE AROUND THE WORLD, THIS WON'T BE OVER.

MY HOPE IS WE CAN GLOBAL GLOBALIZE GLOBAL VACCINATION AND ALSO GET OUR KIDS VACCINATED.

>> Braude: DR. JHA, CAN I RETURN TO YOU AND A LOT OF LEGAL EXPERTS THINK AS LONG AS IT IS AN EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION PHASE, YOU CAN'T MANDATE IT.

WHEN I READ THE STORY ABOUT THE 117 STAFF PEOPLE AT HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL SUING BECAUSE THERE WAS A MANDATE THERE, I ALMOST HAD A STROKE.

IS THERE ANY REASON WHY A HEALTH CARE WORKER SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO WORK WITH PATIENTS IF THEY AREN'T VACCINATED, DOCTOR?

>> Doctor: MY PERSONAL BELIEF IS THAT WOULD BE A HIGH BAR TO CLEAR.

THE WAY THEY FRAMED IT WAS THEY DON'T WANT TO BEGIN BE GUINEA PIGS.

THE WAY I FRAMED IT, THEN THEY MAKE THEIR PATIENTS GUINEA PIGS.

I IMAGINE THAT THE HOSPITALS ARE GOING TO LINE UP BEHIND VACCINATION TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY CAN.

BUT THEY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WORKFORCE PRIORITIES, IF THEY HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.

THE THING THAT BOTHERS ME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL AND PHYSICIAN IS THE FAILURE OF HAVE A LIST.

WE DON'T KNOW THE LONG-TERM RISKS OF ANY OF THE VACCINES, BUT WE KNOW THE SHORT-TERM RISKS ARE ASTRONOMICAL WITH COVID-19, AND THE VACCINE PRETTY MUCH NEGATES THAT.

SO IN MY MIND, ANY LONG-TERM EFFECTS FROM THE COVID VACCINATION WILL BE NECHNEGLIGIBLE.

TO ME THE PART THAT IS TROUBLING IS THE FAILURE TO HAVE ENGAGED WITH THE DATA WHEN THEY MAKE THOSE KIND OF DECISIONS, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT PUTS PATIENTS AT A RISK.

>> Braude: DR. PIERRE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WON'T DO PERSONALLY THAT IS PERMISSIBLE UNDER NEW C.D.C.

AND MASSACHUSETTS GUIDELINES?

>> I PROBABLY WON'T GO TO A CONCERT RIGHT NOW.

I FEEL LIKE AN OLD LADY NOW ANYWAY, BUT I PROBABLY WON'T GO TO A CONCERT THIS YEAR.

YOU KNOW, I THINK BASED ON THE SCIENCE THAT WE HAVE, CERTAINLY IT IS ALLOWABLE TO GO INDOORS.

WE HAVE GOOD EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS ARE SAFE IN THIS CONTEXT.

BUT I THINK I GET UNCOMFORTABLE IN LARGE CROWDS, AND PART OF THAT IS ALSO JUST TRYING TO ADAPT.

AND PART OF THAT IS WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL DOING OUR PART TO GET VACCINATED AND STAY SAFE.

>> Braude: DR. JHA, WE HAVE 30 SECONDS.

ANYTHING ON YOUR LIST?

>> I'M LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH MASKS IN THE FALL.

IN TERMS OF MY CHILD, IT HAS TO DO WITH HOW CROWDED THE SPACES ARE WITH THE UNVACCINATED.

IN A TOWN WITH ONE CASE OUT OF 100,000, AND FIVE KIDS IN A ROOM IN OPEN AIR, SURE, I WOULD SEND HER IN WITHOUT A MASK.

BUT IF SOMEONE IS GOING TO TELL HER IT IS OKAY FOR MY 3-YEAR-OLD TO GO IN A ROOM WITH 50 UNVACCINATED KIDS, I'D SAY NO THANKS.

AND SHE IS FINE WITH IT.

I THINK THE WAY TO MAKE IT ALL WORK IS TO DECREASE CASES, AND THE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO MAXIMIZE VACCINATIONS.

>> Braude: DR. FAUST AND DR. PIERRE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

I APPRECIATE IT.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Braude: WHEN COVID SHUTDOWNS BEGAN LAST YEAR, COLLEGE STUDENTS WERE SENT HOME AND TOURISTS LARGELY VANISHED.

A PLACE LIKE HARVARD SQUARE DEPENDS ON BOTH, NOT SURPRISING, LOCAL BUSINESSES WERE NERVOUS.

SO HOW DID THE ICONIC SQUARE WEATHER THE DARKEST MONTHS OF COVID?

LIZ NEISLOSS CHECKED BACK IN MORE THAN A YEAR LATER.

>> Reporter: WHEN COVID SHUTDOWN HARVARD SQUARE OVER A YEAR AGO, IT QUICKLY BEGAN TO LOOK LIKE A GHOST TOWN.

AT LE PETIT SALON CURL CONCEPT, CANCELLATIONS FLOODED IN.

OWNER TEO SORCE TRIED TO BE OPTIMISTIC.

>> HELLO, EVERYONE.

COME AND HAVE A HAIRCUT; WE'RE GOING TO BE OKAY.

>> Reporter: BUT SALONS EVERYWHERE WERE HARD HIT, AND IT TURNED INTO A BRUTAL YEAR FOR SORCE.

COVID KILLED SEVERAL FAMILY MEMBERS BACK IN BRAZIL.

ON TOP OF THAT, HER BUSINESSES ALL BUT DRIED UP AND NOW?

>> WELL, IT STARTED TO GET BETTER, A LITTLE BETTER, BUT -- IT'S HARD TO TALK ABOUT.

>> Reporter: YET SORCE'S DETERMINED, AND IN A BUSINESS THAT NORMALLY DEMANDS CLOSE CONTACT, SHE'S TRIED TO BE NIMBLE.

>> HOW ARE YOU?

>> Reporter: A CLIENT DROPS BY AND SORCE HANDS OFF A PACKAGE OF CUSTOM HAIR COLOR.

DURING COVID, SHE'S BEEN PREPARING MIXES OF COLOR TO USE AT HOME.

>> YOUR HAIR IS LEVEL SIX.

>> Reporter: SOME CLIENTS HAVE STARTED TRICKLING BACK AND SHE'S HOPEFUL LIFTING RESTRICTIONS WILL HELP FILL THE SALON AGAIN.

JUST DOWNSTAIRS FROM THE SALON, A DIFFERENT BUSINESS AND A VASTLY DIFFERENT PICTURE.

>> KEEP SIX FEET BETWEEN PARTIES.

>> Reporter: ON THIS SATURDAY, THERE IS A LONG, MEANDERING LINE OF COSTUMERS WAITING OUTSIDE BLACK SHEEP BAGELS.

>> MARA?

[LAUGHTER] >> CREAM CHEESE.

>> Reporter: BUT OVER A YEAR AGO CO-OWNER MANNY RAMIREZ WAS NERVOUS.

FOR TWO MONTHS SALES TANKED.

P.P.P.

MONEY AND CAMBRIDGE CITY GRANTS HELPED, BUT THEY ALSO DUG INTO THEIR SAVINGS TO KEEP MORE THAN A DOZEN STAFF EMPLOYED.

TO BOOST BUSINESS, THE CAFE BECAME A GRAB AND GO.

>> WE DECIDED, YOU KNOW, HUNKER DOWN AND STAY OPEN AND TRY TO NAVIGATE THROUGH COVID, KEEP OUR STAFF ENTIRELY, WHICH, SUCCESSFULLY, WE DID.

AND THE FIRST TWO MONTHS WERE PRETTY CRAZY, PRETTY CHAOTIC, AND, YOU KNOW, IT BALANCED THROUGH.

OUR COSTUMERS CAME THROUGH FOR US; THE NEIGHBORHOOD CAME THROUGH FOR US.

THE CITY WAS A TON OF HELP.

>> Reporter: BUT IT ALSO TOOK HELP FROM LANDLORDS.

ACCORDING TO THE HARVARD SQUARE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, THE MAJORITY OF LANDLORDS WERE WILLING TO NEGOTIATE RENTS, INCLUDING SOME WHO AGREED TO TAKE ONLY A PERCENTAGE OF STORE REVENUE AS RENT.

OF THE 291 BUSINESSES THAT WERE OPEN PRE-PANDEMIC, THE ASSOCIATION SAYS ROUGHLY 85% HAVE SURVIVED.

>> 76% ARE LOCALLY-OWNED, INDEPENDENT, SO THE DECISION-MAKERS ARE RIGHT HERE ON THE GROUND IN HARVARD SQUARE, AND THEY FIGURED IT OUT AND THEY WERE NIMBLE AND FLEXIBLE AND THEY WERE CREATIVE AND THEY WERE ENERGETIC AND THEY HUNG ON TIGHT.

AND THAT'S MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.

>> Reporter: MEANWHILE RAMIREZ AND HIS WIFE HAVE NOT ONLY HUNG ON BUT EXPANDED JUST BEYOND THE SQUARE.

>> HI, WHAT CAN WE GET FOR YOU?

>> Reporter: SEVERAL MONTHS INTO COVID, WHEN A SPACE CAME UP FOR RENT, RAMIREZ SAYS THEY GRABBED THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN BLACK SHEEP MARKET, WHICH FOCUSES ON LOCAL PRODUCTS.

AND AT LE PETIT SALON CURL CONCEPT, TEO SORCE IS DETERMINED TO BUILD BACK HER BUSINESS.

>> JUST TRY TO SURVIVE.

[LAUGHTER] >> THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO.

TRY TO PUSH ALL -- TO DEFER ALL THOSE BILLS AND WAITING TO PAY WHEN WE FULLY REOPEN, RIGHT?

>> Reporter: AFTER THE SEASON OF DARKNESS COMES THE SPRING OF HOPE.

LIZ NEISLOSS, GBH NEWS.

>> Braude: PRE-PANDEMIC, SIX TO EIGHT MILLION TOURISTS A YEAR WOULD VISIT HARVARD SQUARE.

LAST YEAR THERE WERE LESS THAN A THOUSAND.

WITH THE PANDEMIC STILL SURGING IN OTHER COUNTRIES, FOREIGN TOURISTS AREN'T EXPECTED BACK IN BIG NUMBERS JUST YET.

THE HARVARD SQUARE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION IS HOPING REGIONAL AND U.S.

TOURISTS WILL PICK UP THAT SLACK.

>>> THAT'S IT FOR TONIGHT.

WE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW.

THANKS FOR WATCHING, AND PLEASE STAY SAFE.

♪♪ Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org